The Story of Us
by krissyg927
Summary: Just a little love story.


Listen to the tide slowly turning

Wash all our heartaches away

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes, we can build another day. -The Story in Your Eyes by The Moody Blues

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They say that you only love one person all your life, and once you meet that person, you are changed forever. They may slip in and out of your life but true love doesn't happen every day and once you know. Well, you know. It's worth waiting for, no matter how long you have to wait.

Sometimes it takes a while until you are sure and then you want to kick yourself for all of the wasted time, letters you didn't write and phone calls you didn't make. But, that's the way life is sometimes, you can't go back, only forward and accepting that is half the battle. The only thing you can do then is hope that when you find that love, it stays.

If it gets away from you, it always comes back, if it's meant to be. Daryl would come to believe that with all his heart, but he didn't realize it until he was much older.

He met her when he was very young, and he didn't know how important she would be to him one day. When you are nine years old love isn't on your mind at all, and people move in and out of your life like waves on a beach every day. And sometimes you have other things to worry about, like how to hide from your old man when he's on a bender and where your brother was when he went missing sometimes.

It was the first day of school, and Merle had been missing again. He was telling Rick Gardner about it as they both walked into the classroom and he noticed her right away. She had red pigtails and those eyes; Daryl thought they would look like the ocean if he ever got to see it. So profound and blue, he almost felt lost in them sometimes.

Daryl had never been farther than Pittsburg, and there was no ocean there. Someday he hoped to see a real ocean and lay on a real beach.

That very first day in fourth grade when Emily McLaughlin took the seat in front of him in Miss. Smith's class he was drawn to her. She was from the other side of town and went to primary school there until this year when they combined all the kids of the entire district together for middle school.

They would never have met at all if that hadn't happened and they probably wouldn't have spoken if Philip hadn't pulled her hair right in front of Daryl on Halloween and then laughed his fool ass off. But he did, and Daryl punched him in the lunchroom which resulted in him, Rick and Philip getting suspended.

None of them got to go trick or treating that year, and Daryl caught a beating for being suspended, but Merle was home the next day, and they went hunting while the old man was passed out.

From that day forward, Emily, Daryl, and Rick ate lunch together and ran around town like hellions on their bikes. Sometimes Merle took them out in his new truck, and they all worshiped the ground that boy walked on. He was older, and he was cool, and he told the dirtiest jokes they had ever heard, he was a scandal and they adored him.

The two younger boys took her fishing, roller skating and to 7/11 for Slurpees, and they were like the three musketeers that year. They all turned ten by the summertime and thought they owned the world. That small world you are in when you are ten years old and the days are longer than they will ever be again.

At the end of that summer, Emily's mother told her that she was divorcing her father, and they were moving away from Montgomery, somewhere up north, and she wasn't sure where. All she knew was that it was far away, but she told him she'd come back one day. She promised as she waved goodbye from the back of her mother's station wagon as he became smaller and smaller and finally she couldn't see him anymore.

For a few years, she and Daryl were pen pals, but the teen years became busy for both of them, and they lost contact around the age of sixteen. Sometimes they each thought of each other, but it was fleeting, they both were trying to make better lives for themselves, and it didn't leave time for old friends.

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Emily was late, and she was in a hurry, running down the stairs, not paying attention at all when she ran into the guy carrying a laundry basket full of clothes. She hadn't been paying care and had been rushing to get to the dean of literature's office for a meeting regarding her student teaching in the spring, and she didn't even see him there. They both ended up on the floor with her books and his laundry all over the place; Emily was mortified, and her face turned beet red looking at this guys boxer shorts laying on her leg.

She snatched them up and threw them in the basket, and she couldn't look him in the eyes. Emily had never seen a man's underwear before, and it was unnerving, to say the least. She was twenty-two and blushing like a pre-teen, and embarrassing herself by the minute with a stranger.

"I'm so sorry…" She babbled, looking at him and noticing…something.

"S'alright." He said as she helped him pick up his clothes and he grabbed her books. Emily was going to be late now, but she couldn't just run off, he lived in her dorm naturally, and it was a bad way to start off the year. She hastily grabbed his t-shirts, jeans, and boxers and shoved them back in the basket and began to gather her books.

Daryl tried to strike up a conversation with her; he had a weakness for redheads, he always had, and he wasn't sorry she plowed into him that morning. It was going to be a good year, transferring to the state college may have been the best decision of his life.

"What's your name, if you're gonna touch my drawers, I need to know your name." He said, with his blue eyes twinkling in the sunlight that was coming in the door. He was smiling, and the dimples on his cheeks were distracting her and making her forget about her appointment.

"Emily, Emily McLaughlin." She said holding out her hand to shake and he took it. She noticed his eyes change when she said her name and he didn't let go of her hand. Strangely, she found she didn't want him to let go, for some reason unknown to her. His rough hand felt good on hers, familiar.

"I'm Daryl Dixon." And then she knew.

"Dixon." She replied softly.

"Did you ever live in…"

"Montgomery, oh my god." She jumped up and hugged him right there on the floor amongst his clothes and her books. "Oh my god, it's you."

"Emily." He murmured into her hair which smelled incredible, and he remembered that about her, she always smelled so good, even if she was a tomboy when he knew her. "You came back." He whispered too low for her even to hear.

She finished helping him, and he handed her the last of her books, there was an awkward pause between them, because neither one of them wanted to say goodbye. They just looked at each other, as if they were afraid the other would disappear again.

"I have a meeting to get to." Emily finally said after a beat. "Can we…"

"Coffee, later." He said hopefully, standing up and grabbing his basket of, thank god clean clothes.

"Sure, six o'clock?" She met his eyes and again was distracted once again by how clear and blue they were. "The student union?"

"Alright, I'll be there, gonna bring a surprise for you," Daryl said with a grin and a wink.

"I love surprises." She laughed and opened the door to leave.

He wanted her to stay, now, but he knew she had to go. "Hey, Emily?"

"Yes." She turned back.

"Anyone pulls your hair, I got that, m'kay." He called after her.

Emily smiled brightly at him and then she was gone. Daryl turned to walk up the stairs with a whistle and a spring in his step to tell his roommate Rick that he had just met up with their old friend. Merle was going to tease the ever-loving fuck out of him over this, but he didn't care.

Seeing her again was fate; he just knew it.

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Rick sat with Daryl waiting for Emily to arrive later that night at the large student union. The music coming from the speakers above him was familiar, but he didn't know who sang it. Something about waiting for somebody, which was ironic and the words filtered through his ears as he waited for her, his somebody.

Merle was at school there too, a few years ahead of them and all three of them had transferred from the community college to state that semester. Damn, was it a small world, Daryl thought to himself for the millionth time that day.

Rick was a political science major and hoped to join the police force one day. Daryl and Merle were environmental science majors and planned to be park rangers.

Daryl's hand shook as she walked in the building and Rick turned to look at her. She was a grown-up woman now, and Rick was sure he would never have recognized her.

"What are the odds, Daryl?" Rick said. "That she would be here, didn't she move to Maryland or something?"

"Yeah, she did."

Then she was behind them and squealing Rick's name. "Who else is here?" She asked as they both hugged her.

"Merle's here too; he's finishing his master's degree; he had a class tonight," Daryl answered as they all sat down and he had class too, but he had skipped. Coffee with Emily was a better offer, and he couldn't resist. "He's gonna stop by later and say hi."

"Oh, that's great," Emily said with a smile.

"So, you missed Kentucky that much huh?" Rick said, and she nodded.

"Said, I'd be back." She said nudging Daryl beside her, and he already knew, she was the one.

"You don't have Facebook…" Daryl said.

"Too much drama for me." And both the boys nodded, Facebook was still so new then, and people used it to vent all kinds of things that shouldn't be public knowledge. Emily had no desire to air her dirty laundry in public, not one bit.

"I'm just glad we ran into each other again," Daryl mumbled.

"Me too, this is going to be a great year," Emily replied. "Let's get some coffee, hey?"

For the next two years, they were rarely apart, and when they were, they counted the minutes until they were together again. Merle called her little sister and Daryl called her the love of his life.

The days were carefree and full of wonder and new things, as they both fell in love for the first time and the last.

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Merle laid on the bed in his brother's dorm room as Daryl nervously got dressed for the date with Emily one April day. They were seniors now and about to graduate, and everyone was going their separate ways, on to their new lives and jobs, but he wouldn't let her slip out of his life again. Not this time.

They had talked about a future but never got farther than the summer after graduation, Emily had been offered a teaching position in New Jersey and was unsure of what to do.

"You gonna ask her tonight or what?" Merle said. "I came up here for a party, and there better be a celebration tonight little brother."

Daryl turned from his dresser and held out a small box. Merle recognized the box; it held the last thing they had from their mother, who was gone way before Daryl ever met Emily. Somehow he knew his mother approved, Merle loved her, and he was aware that their mom would have too.

"You sure you don't mind me taking the ring?" Daryl asked.

"Pfffft, it's been in the lockbox for twenty years' man, about time someone gets to wear it." Merle huffed with a grin.

"If she says yes."

"Of course she'll say yes."

Daryl sat down next to Merle, and his shoulders slumped down. He knew she was conflicted, but he also knew she applied for jobs in Montgomery too, but he didn't want her not to follow her dreams, even if took her away from him. He thought maybe he could even go with her, if she wanted him to, they could work something out.

"She ain't ever been with anyone but me, what if she doesn't want to settle down so young, she's got that job offer," Daryl replied. "What if she wants another man to see what it's like? I don't want to cheat her out of that or out of anything she ought to do."

"Do you feel cheated?" Merle asked. "Keeping your face buried in the books all that time, until she came along."

"No, I'm glad I waited, she's the right one, the only one I want to be with ever," Daryl said, and that was as true as anything he had ever said.

"Then go fucking tell her that," Merle said. "Go right now."

A few minutes later he was knocking on her door, which was down the hall from his, Emily opened the door and smiled at him. Her face always lit up when she saw him, every single time and even two years later. Daryl was so nervous he almost dropped the ring on the floor and ruined everything, but as he raised his head up and looked at her, the words came spilling out.

"I'm almost ready, come in." She said reaching for his hand.

"Wait, Emily…" He sucked in his breath determined to get some words out before he passed out from the stress of it. "I don't want anybody else but you, not for the rest of my life, I know we're young but…"

Emily's eyes traveled over his face and to his eyes which were her home and then down to his hands where he held the ring. She started to cry before he even had the words out. He was all she ever wanted since the day at the student union, two years ago.

"This ain't a proper proposal, but if I waited for the right moment…"

"Yes." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. "Yes, yes yes."

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"It's ok Mr. Cage."

"I said call me Daryl, Charlene." He said to the young girl who sat next to him on the bench.

"Daryl, she'll remember one day." The nurse said as he closed the notebook he was reading from that day, he had quite a few of the same kind, filled with his words, filled with the story of them. "She will, you tell her a story every day, and I swear I can see something in her eyes, she remembers."

"She thinks I'm her friend, and I am, and it's good enough Charlene." He said as he watched the nurses walk Emily back through the doors of their home now. "As long as we can be together."

He smiled, but it was such a sad smile as he watched as the other nurse walked Emily back to her room which was right next door to his, just the way he wanted it. He could look after her that way and he did. Emily always smiled at him and was happy to see him, and it was enough for him.

Her eyes still lit up at the sight of him, and that gave joy to his heart. Even if, she might not know why that happened.

For better or worse, in sickness and health, and he took that seriously.

"When you tell her those stories, she gets so happy hearing about how you met, and all your years together. Her face is bright, lively. That's because of you." Charlene said to him, as an offer of comfort. "She loves it and somewhere deep inside she knows that she loves you."

Daryl smiled, hoping that was true.

Emily had been a college professor of creative writing, and now she didn't know him, well she knew him, but she didn't know who he was to her. He was just the nice man who told her stories, beautiful stories about two people who loved each other fiercely and without reservation.

Stories of a life together, of happiness and hard times, of how they used to bicker with each other over the silliest things. Tales of love and fights, of children, friends, and fun. Tales of almost forty years together. Before she got sick.

When she was first diagnosed he started writing the story of their life together because even though she would have wanted to, she couldn't. She was a writer who would never write another word again, and so he did it for her.

Daryl read it to her every day now, sometimes he told her about the few years when they were children together, and sometimes he told her about their wedding in Savannah on the beach and how they laid together on the beach that night after everyone had left. They got down in the sand in their fancy clothes and held hands, looking up at the stars and planned their life together. It was a beautiful life.

It had rained while they were on the beach and Emily always giggled when he told her about them running back to the hotel drenched and laughing. She loved hearing about motorcycles rides and driving around in the middle of the night trying to get babies to go to sleep.

Today he told her about the first time and the second time they had met, and she was delighted. The daily stories he told always kept her on the edge of her seat.

It was always new to her, and she looked forward to their time together in the courtyard amongst the flowers and trees. The stories were excellent, and they touched her somewhere forgotten, and she sometimes looked at Daryl and saw a younger man's face, which gave her the most surreal feeling of peace.

Sometimes she dreamed about a boy and a girl fishing on a lake somewhere that was familiar to her, and the boy had Daryl's eyes. Sometimes she dreamed of little children, three of them, but she didn't know whose children they were, they all had red hair like she did and familiar blue eyes.

Something was there under the surface and just out of her reach.

Emily always wanted to hear more about the couple in the book he was writing. They had the sweetest love story, and it made her so happy to hear about it.

At the age of fifty-eight, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and two years later; she was unable to be left alone. Their children convinced him to bring her to an assistive living facility, but he only agreed if he could go too.

One day, when they had been there just a few months, she woke up and didn't remember his name, didn't remember him, so he started telling her the stories he had been writing for years, in preparation for this moment in their lives now.

It had been, Rick's idea, years before and it had been a good one.

Rick sometimes visited, with his wife Lori and they would have coffee with Daryl and Emily, like they did in college, so many years ago. Emily didn't know them either; they were Daryl's friends to her.

Lori always cried on the way home from those visits, she and Emily had been best friends and stood up for each other when they married, shared so much together over the years. They had gone on vacations together and talking about that now with her, well she thought they were just telling her a story too.

Emily was Carl's godmother, and she didn't know him or his wife, Stephanie. Lori missed her and she always would.

Now, as they were all getting older; the visits became less frequent and time wasn't stopping for any of them.

"Your son called Mr," Charlene said and then she saw the look on his face. "Daryl."

"Thank you, Charlene, Mr. Dixon was my father, and he was a dick."

Charlene giggled at Daryl's comment and continued. "Chase and Kelly said they're coming to visit this weekend with the kids, and Jamie told me she's coming too, that'll be fun won't it." She said standing up and holding her arm out for him to take and walk to the building with him.

"Yes, it will Charlene, Emily will like that, she says I have a lovely family." Charlene noticed the pain in his voice as he said that. He and Emily had three children that she didn't know anymore. Chase, Shane, and Jamie, their youngest and only girl. They had grandchildren too, and more to come probably.

The boys were both married with children, and Jamie was getting married in the spring. He had asked Emily to come to the wedding with him, and she had agreed. She said she looked forward to their first date and he could only smile. Their first date had been a long time ago.

On the day of the wedding, Chase would pick them up and Kelly, who was a nurse and would make sure they got their meds and anything else they needed when they were out. It would be a beautiful day.

"Charlene, have you seen my brother today?" Daryl asked because he hadn't seen Merle that day at all and his room was just down the hall.

"Yes, sir I have." She laughed. "He told me the dirtiest joke this morning, but I know it's from the stroke."

"No, it ain't Charlene." He laughed as she opened the door and escorted him inside, where he would have lunch with Emily and Merle like he did every day.

And it was enough.

The End

Notes:

I know, it's been done, but I couldn't resist, and the muse would not take the gun away from my head until I wrote it. She's a bitch like that. Thoughts? Please tell me what you think? Thank you for reading.


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